The Tata Ficosa edge Products Engineering capabilities Customers Promoters and partners Manufacturing facilities CEO Contact Corporate presentation (pdf 1.76 MB)

Tata Ficosa Automotive Systems Limited (TF) offers complete solutions for parking-brake mechanical control cables, rod-and-cable gear shifters, washer systems and rear-view mirror products as a full service supplier (FSS).

The Tata Ficosa edge

• Wide product range with technology from Ficosa International, Spain
• Capability to produce and supply to Global OEM's from India
• Ability to meet the needs of every auto-industry segment
• Cost-effective design and engineering capabilities
  

Products
Ficosa International's extensive international research experience has enabled Tata Ficosa to develop a wide range of products for all types of vehicles available in the world market. Its products are custom built in accordance with vehicle ergonomics and are technologically and aesthetically integrated with other vehicle systems.

Rear-view systems

Interior rear-view systems: Its interior mirror products include prismatic mirrors, electro-chromatic mirrors (with rainsensor), lighted mirrors, microphone mirrors and mirrors with antennae, GPS / GSM or parking cameras. TF has world class quality plant for manufacturing prismatic glass in-house.

Exterior rear-view systems: Approved around the world, the company's range of exterior rear-view mirrors ranges from the simplest models to complex aespherical electronic mirrors with temperature sensors.

Products and features in this segment include power foldable mirrors, electrically-articulated mirrors, blinker mirrors, heating systems, hydrophilic mirrors, antiglare tilts and electro-chromatic mirrors.

Commercial vehicle mirrors: TF has special technology from Wilke, Germany for high end commercial vehicle, world trucks.

Mechanical control cables: The company's laboratories have developed a self-adjusting system to solve the problem of slackening caused by regular use of the system. Tata Ficosa's command-and-control system includes:

• Clutch cable
• Accelerator cable
• Handbrake cable
• Hood-opening cable
• Fuel-cap-opening cable
• Push-pull systems cable
• Seat system cables
• Transmission cable
• Door opening cables
• Window adjusting cables
• Bowden cables
  

Tata Ficosa cables have the following advantages:

• Easy snap mechanisms for quick fitment of the cables
• Reduction in weight through plastic abutments
• Better crimping process for plastic and metallic abutments
• High flexibility of the conduit through twin wire and less flattening
• Online control and assurance for pullout loads of end fittings
• Pneumatic sleeve fitting with position control and interference fit
  

Parking-brake systems: Tata Ficosa's parking brake system features a self-locking nut, which makes it simple to adjust, a defined lever ratio through cable guides, uniform strokes at both left and right brake shoes through an equaliser mechanism, routing flexibility through a twin wire conduit, and meets the life test.

Unique advantage: TF is the only company which manufactures and supplies complete parking brake system including the cable with the lever. TF also integrates with the brake company to provide a complete solution for the product to its OEMs.

Gear-shifting systems: The company's cable-type gear-shifting systems increase layout possibilities for the shifter with respect to the gearbox. Vibrations are isolated because cables are not as rigid as rods, have less weight and the frequency of vibration shifts from the gearbox to the cables. There is also an isolation of noise through a damper system that breaks the transmission of noise and smoothens gear shifting. These systems also improve safety performance and reduce fitting and assembly time.

Tata Ficosa's gear shifting products include:

• Rod-type systems
• Cable-type systems
• Dashboard systems
• Ultra-compact systems, with illuminated, colourful covers and knobs
  

Windshield-washer systems: The company's washer system includes

• Windshield washer systems
• Headlamp washers systems
  

Tata Ficosa's windshield-washer systems use fan-nozzle technology patented by Ficosa International that is superior to the traditional ball system. The fan nozzles atomise the water, distributing the water better over the windscreen. Tata Ficosa also supplies its systems with the following pumps.

• Mono-pump
• Dual-pump
  

A single dual pump can be used to atomise both the front and rear windshields instead of the traditional two mono pumps. The dual pump reduces the space required to mount the pumps in the tank and helps save costs.

Engineering capabilities
Every product produced by Tata Ficosa has a team of engineers behind it, aware of everything down to the last detail, responsible for its development and for attaining the highest level of quality. Supported by technology from Ficosa International, the company's laboratories often work in collaboration with universities and technological institutes to develop new products to improve the driving experience.

The company's cost-effective design and engineering capabilities have succeeded in making it Ficosa's worldwide design centre. These capabilities include:

• Concurrent engineering
• Geometric dimensioning and tolerance
• Quality function deployment
• Design for manufacturability / design for assembly
• Value engineering
• Design of experiments
• Failure mode and effects analysis
• Simulation techniques
• Reliability engineering parts / robust linkages
• Solid modelling
• Rapid prototyping and analysis
• Tool design for press tools, injection moulds and casting dies
• 8-D resolution
• Process-control techniques
• Project-tracking techniques
  

Tata Ficosa ensures maximum use of carryover and standard components, uses the latest tools, such as DFMEA & DFMA, uses engineering plastic instead of metals wherever permissible and Zamak end fittings instead of steel end fittings for cables.

Its laboratories have infrastructure that includes IDEAS, CATIA and AutoCAD.